Muslim Perspectives on the Military Orders during the Crusades

BYU Studies Quarterly BYU Studies Quarterly

Volume 40 Issue 4 Article 8

10-1-2001

Muslim Perspectives on the Military Orders during the Crusades Muslim Perspectives on the Military Orders during the Crusades

William J. Hamblin

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Hamblin, William J. (2001) "Muslim Perspectives on the Military Orders during the Crusades," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 40 : Iss. 4 , Article 8. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol40/iss4/8

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muslim perspectives on the militaryorders during the crusadeswilliam J hamblin

on july 4411871187 the armies of saladin sultan of egypt and syria sur-rounded thousands of crusaders surmounting the horns ofofhattinhattin fig i1near tiberiasbiberiasTiberias in galilee exhausted by heat thirst and days of marchingand fighting the crusaders were forced to surrender thousands of theresulting prisoners were sold into slavery but not all while king guy andthe frankishprankish aristocrats who had led their followers to disaster wereallowed for the most part to ransom themselves 1 the knights of the mili-tary orders faced a different fate 2 after his triumphant victory saladinsingled out the captive templarstemplaryTemplars and hospitallersHospitallers for execution

of course such atroci-ties by both sides were hardlyuncommon during the cru-sades richard lionheartsLionheartsmassacre of 2700270023002370 arab pris-oners plus their wives andchildren following his cap-ture of acre comes to mind 3

yet saladinssaladinaSaladins treatment of thetemplarstemplaryTemp lars and hospitallersHospitallersafter the battle of hattinstands in stark contrast to his FIG i the horns ofofhattinhattin near tiberiasbiberiasTiberias israel

generous treatment of pris-oners

the horns of hattin was the site of saladinssaladinaSaladinsgreat victory over the crusaders inin 1187captured later that year

at jerusalem where saladinpaid the ransom for thousands of poor christians and let them go free 4

what caused the particular enmity between saladin and the templarstemplaryTemplars andhospitallersHospitallers to understand this situation one must begin with an exami-nation of muslim perspectives on monasticism in general

muslim views of christian monasticism before the crusades

although pre islamic arabia is often viewed with some justificationas somewhat of a cultural backwater the arabs nonetheless had extensivecontacts with both the sassanid persian and byzantine empires throughthe contacts with byzantium and especially through interaction with the

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Hamblin: Muslim Perspectives on the Military Orders during the Crusades

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christianizedChristianichristianizerzed arab ghassanid tribe pagan arabs first came into contactwith christian monasticism 5 arab poets make a few references to chris-tian monks one perhaps allegorical allusion describes a bedouin wander-ing lost in the desert by night who sees in the distance the flickering lightfrom the lamp of a monk reading in his cell and finds shelter with him 6

but such minor incidental references in poetry are insufficient to giveus anything but the vaguest hints about how pre islamic arabs viewedmonasticism for a more complete understanding ofhow the muslim viewdeveloped we must turn to the quraur an where monasticism is discussed infour passages that laid the foundation for subsequent muslim attitudestoward monks during the crusades on the positive side the quranquraur andescribes monks as leading people near although not fully to the pathof god

you will find that the most implacable of men in their enmity to the faithfulmuslims are the jews and the pagans and that the nearest in affection to

them are those who say we are christians that is because there are priestsqassisinqassisin and monks ruhbanrahbanruhban among them and because they are free from

pride 5825827

this positive attitude toward monasticism was further emphasized by thestory of the monk bahira found in the earliest surviving biography ofmuhammad written by ibn ishaq As a young teenager muhammad jour-neyed with a caravan to syria

when the caravan reached busraausra in syria there was a monk there in his cellby the name of bahira who was well versed in the knowledge of chris-tians there he gained his knowledge from a book that was in the cell sothey allege handed on from generation to generation they allege thatwhile he was in his cell he saw the apostle of god muhammad in the cara-van when they approached with a cloud overshadowing him among thepeople 8 then they came and stopped in the shadow of a tree near the monkwhen bahira saw him he stared at him closely looking at his body and find-ing traces of his description in the christian books he began to askhim about what happened in his sleep and his habits and his affairs gen-erally and what the apostle of god told him coincided with what bahiraknew of his description the monk bahira told muhammads uncle andguardian abu talib1talib take your nephew back to his country and guardhim carefully against the jews for byallah if they see him and know about himwhat I1 know they will do him evil a great future lies before this nephew ofyours so take him home quickly 9

this passage reveals a number of implicit attitudes about monasticismfirst there is a clear preference in early islamic sources for hermitic soli-

tary monks over coenobitic communal monks the favorably depictedmonk in early islamic sources is generally the lone ascetic devoting his lifeto prayer and contemplation in the wilderness in a sense muhammadhimself pursued this ideal for his early biographers describe him as a

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muslim perspectives on the military orders during the crusades 99

hanif a nondenominationalmonotheist who for onemonth each year withdrew tomount hira fig 2 nearmecca for tahannuthtahannuth devo-tionalX prayer and contempla-tion this is where he receivedhis first vision of gabriel and

U revelation of the quran 10

there is also however anFIG 2 mount hira saudia arabia mount hira implicit criticism of monkswas the site of the prophet muhammads first vision in this passage the monkof gabriel and the place where he spent a month bahira was in possession ofeach year in devotional prayer and contemplation an apocryphal book that

when interpreted correctlyprophesied of the coming of muhammad yet unlike bahira in this storymost of the very monks who were the keepers of this arcane tradition andwho should therefore have clearly seen muhammad for the prophet he wasrefused to accept him

in addition to this basically positive assessment of monks howeverthe quraur an also outlines three major problems with monasticism firstmonasticism places human intermediaries between god and mankind

they make of their clerics qassisqassisinin and monks rahbanruhbanruhban and of the messiahthe son of mary lords besides god though they were ordered to serve onegod only 931

second monasticism was not ordained by god however well intended itis a human invention

we god gave him jesus the gospel and put compassion and mercy in thehearts of his followers As for monasticism rahbaniyarahbaniya they invented itthemselves for we god had not enjoined it on them seeking thereby toplease god but they did not observe it faithfully we rewarded only thosewho were true believers for many of them were evildoersevil doers 57275727u

finally monks are accused in the quranquraur an of corruptly using their positionsas rulers in society to garner personal wealth and power

believers many are the clerics and the monks who defraud men of theirpossessions and debar them from the path of god to those that hoard upgold and silver and do not spend it in gods cause proclaim a woeful pun-ishmentish ment 934

yet despite the problems with monasticism enumerated in the our anmonks and christians in general were considered people of thebook 111212 followers of god who had received an early portion of gods

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revelation but not the fullness revealed to muhammad in the quran As

such they became a tolerated religious minority within islam this attitudeis reflected in the early islamic conquests in the seventh century when thechurches and monasteries of the christians were given special protectionin peace treaties the caliph umar s ruled 634 644 treaty with jerusalemis typical of many other treaties from the period

this is the assurance of safety aman which the servant of god umar thecommander of the faithful has granted to the people of jerusalem he hasgiven them an assurance of safety for themselvesjthemselves for their property theirchurches their crosses the sick and the healthy of the city and for all the ritu-als that belong to their religion their churches will not be inhabited bymuslims and will not be destroyed neither they nor the land on which theystand nor their cross nor their property will be damaged they will not beforcibly converted 13

thus since the earliest days of islam monasticism was a protected institu-tion of a protected religious minority

the protected status of christianity and monasticism in early islamicsociety is emphasized by the important roles some christians played underislamic rule under the caliphs the literary and scholarly skills of christianmonks were highly prized with many monks serving as clerks and evenhigh ministers the most famous is perhaps the great defender of iconsjohn of damascus 655 750 who was originally a prominent minister forthe umayyads at damascus before taking orders and retiring to mar sabanear bethlehem where his cell is still exhibited to visitors 14 christianssuch as hunaynhusayn ibn ishaq joannitiusJoanni tius were the leaders of the famoustranslation academy bayt al hikma house of wisdom at baghdad in theninth century 15

somewhat paradoxically coptic monasticism in egypt flourishedunder islam and may have reached its height in the tenth century this wasbecause under earlier byzantine rule coptic monasticism was suppressedas heretical whereas it was tolerated by the muslims although there werecertainly attacks against monks and monasteries by arabs these tended tobe incidents ofbrigandage or extortion by corrupt officials rather than formalgovernment policy throughout the middle ages relations between theegyptian government and the coptic monks generally remained good forexample the late thirteenth century egyptian mamlukhamluk sultan baybarsbaybarz I1

noted for his pursuit of jihad or holy war against the crusaders was aguest of the monks at a monastery of dair abu maqarmacar while traveling inwadiwadlwadihabibhabib 16

thus despite minority status and intermittent persecutions ortho-dox syriac coptic and nestorian monasticism all survived in islamiclands up to the period of the crusades 17 based on the quran the tradi-tional islamic interpretation was that monasticism was a well intentioned

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human institution whose advocates did not always live up to its principlesit was not however revealed by god this was the prevailing arab attitudetowards monasticism at the beginning of the crusades 18

religious intruders

the coming of the crusaders however brought three new develop-ments that transformed relations between muslims and christian monasti-cism first the monks were now latin catholics who frequently had littleor no understanding of islam second unlike the monks who had submit-ted to islamic political authority the crusaders came as hostile triumphantconquerors determined to dominate muslim peoples and holy places andfinally unlike the ascetic otherworldly monks of eastern christianity withwhom muslim rulers were familiar the crusades brought the warriormonks of the military orders men who explicitly sought the destructionof islam these new developments compelled a radical reevaluation ofmuslim attitudes towards monasticism

in the period 1118 1156 the military orders played a relatively minorrole in the holy land in fact they are not well documented even in latinsources among the arabs their existence went completely unnoticed in1157 the rising importance of the orders began to attract the attention ofmuslim writers the first surviving mention of the orders is found in ibnal qalanisis history of damascus which mentions the participation ofboth the hospitallersHospitallers and templarytemplarsTemp lars in the battle ofofbanyasbanyas in 1157-

19 herewe also find the first use of the arabic technical terms for templarstemplaryTemp lars andhospitallersHospitallers the latter were called simply the isbitariyya a straightforwardarabizedarabized form of the latin word hospitalishospitalismhospitalis which means a place of lodgingfor wayfarerswayfarers the arab term for templarytemplarsTemplars however is the somewhatobscure dawiyya whose origin and meaning is unknown but which is

thought to perhaps have derived from the latin devotus one devoted togods service 20

most arab texts from 1157 to 11801180 simply mention the orders as prank-ish

frank-ish military units participating in a conflict or owning a castle without giv-ing them any particular attention A very revealing tale however comesfrom usamahosamah ibn munqidh a syrian nobleman and lord ofofshayzarshayzarofShayshaszarzar castlewho served as a mercenary in fatimid egypt for a number of years in hisold age he wrote a delightfully garrulous anecdotal biography in which hedescribes the following encounter with the templar knights at the arabal aqsaaasa mosque on the temple mount in jerusalem

everyone who is a fresh emigrant from the prankishfrankish lands is ruder in charac-ter than those who have become acclimatized and have held long associationwith the moslems here is an illustration of their rude character

whenever I1 visited jerusalem I1 always entered the aqsaaasa mosque besidewhich stood a small mosque which the franks had converted into a church

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when I1 used to enter the aqsaaasa mosque which was occupied by the templarstemplaryTemp larsal dawiyya who were my friends the templarstemplaryTemp lars would evacuate the little

adjoining mosque so that I1 might pray in it one day I1 entered this mosquerepeated the first formula allah is great and stood up in the act ofprayingupon which one of the franks rushed on me got hold of me and turned myface eastward saying this is the way thou shouldstshouldshouldntst pray A group of templarsclars hastened to him seized him and repelled him from me I1 resumed myprayer the same man while the others were otherwise busy rushed oncemore on me and turned my face eastward saying this is the way thoushouldstshouldshouldntst pray the templarstemplaryTemplars again came in to him and expelled him theyapologized to me saying this is a stranger who has only recently arrivedfrom the land of the franks and he has never before seen anyone prayingexcept eastward thereupon I1 said to myself 1 I have had enough prayer soI1 went out and have ever been surprised at the conduct of this devil of a manat the change in the color of his face his trembling and his sentiment at thesight of one praying towards the qiblahkiblah the direction of mecca 21

there are a number of interesting aspects to this story for one thingit seems the templarstemplaryTemplars allowed muslims to pray at the al aqsaaasa mosqueafter it had been converted into a christian religious complex somewhatparadoxically from the modern perspective for usamahosamah the knights tem-plar are examples of moderate toleration the voice of reason when com-pared to the uncomprehending pilgrim from the west at any rateusamahosamah certainly had no animosity towards the templarstemplaryTemplars whom he calls

his friends all of this was to change with the rise of the two great countercrusading sultans nur aldinal din of syria ruled 1146 1174 and saladin ofegypt and syria ruled 1171 1193

even so during the early phases of nur aldinsal dins and saladin s rise topower the military orders were apparently not viewed as a special threatin the latter half of the twelfth century arab sources recognize the militaryorders as distinct groups among the franks these sources demonstratesome understanding of the internal organization of the military ordersthey correctly note that the warrior monks are called brothers latinfratres arabic ikhwaikawa live in a monastic house latin domus arabicbayt and have a special relationship with the pope but the orders are notperceived differently than other frankishprankish soldiers and nobles 22

the nature of arab views of the orders during this period is reflectedin the treatment of captive knights which can be contrasted with saladinssaladinaSaladinslater treatment of the knights of the orders after the battle of hattindescribed at the beginning of this paper on june 181811571157 the grand mas-

ter of the templarytemplarsTemplars bertrand of blancfortblankfortBlancfort was captured by nur aldinal dinalong with eighty seven knights near banyas he and his knights were heldto ransom like any other frankishprankish warriors and were released in may 1159

through intervention of manuel emperor of byzantium 23 two decadeslater in 1179 the situation was still much the same on june lo101011791179 at the

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battle ofofmarjmarj ayun saladin captured odo of saintamandsaint amand master of thetemplarstemplaryTemplars 24 here again saladin treated the templarytemplarsTemplars no differently thanany other members of the prankishfrankish aristocracy baldwin ofoflbelinibelinabelin was ransomeddomed for 150000150000 dinarsainars hugh of galilee for 55000 saladin was willing toexchange grand master odo for an influential muslim prisoner butaccording to william of tyre 11 the grand master was too proud to admitthat anyone could be of equal value to him and remained in prison wherehe died a year later 25 for this study it is important to note that in 1179 amere eight years before the battle of hattin saladin was still willing torelease the templar grand master for an appropriate ransom 26

in august ofthat same year saladin captured over seven hundred pris-oners and the templarstemplaryTemplars newly fortified castle of chastelletChastellet on jacobs fordin the upper jordan whereas saladin specifically ordered the execution ofcrossbowmencrossbowmancrossbowmen and muslim apostates who were in crusader service itseems that the templarstemplaryTemplars themselves were not selected for any special pun-ishmentishment 27 apparently at this time crossbowmencrossbowmancrossbowmen were viewed as more of athreat to islam than the knights of the military orders

SalSasaiadinsladies jihad against the military orders 1180 1193

in the later decade of saladin s life the countercrusadecountercrusade acceleratedrapidly with saladin escalating his jihad and triumphing against the cru-saders 28 by the 118osn8osnaos the orders were increasingly viewed as a seriousthreat to islam for three reasons their military prowess their intransigencein making peace and their spiritual pollution of muslim holy placesspecifically jerusalem and the dome of the rock

the courage and military prowess of the templarytemplarsTemplars and hospitallersHospitallerswere renowned in the west and muslims shared these views of course theknights of the orders were not superheroessuperheroes as they are sometimesdepicted in popular books on the subject nonetheless the muslims whofought against them perceived them as superb warriors ibn al athir oneof the great arab historians of the crusades describes two hundred tem-plar and hospitallerspitallerhospitalierHo prisoners as the backbone of the frankishprankish armies29armies 29

and the fiercest ofall the frankishprankish warriors 3330113030 here is his explanation ofsaladins motives for executing the monks of the military orders after hattin

then god most high bestowed victory upon the muslims at hattin andthe franks were defeated many were killed and the rest captured among thedead was the commander of the hospitallershospitauersHospitallersaUersaliersailers who was one of the mostfamous frankishprankish knights he had done great harm to the muslims the mus-lims pillaged the surrounding region taking booty and prisoners and return-ing safely to tiberiasbiberiasTib erias it was a great victory for the templarstemplaryTemp lars andhospitallersHospitallers are the firebrandsfirebrands of the franks 31

these two groups were especially selected for execution because they had thegreatest valor of all the franks so saladin saved the muslim people from

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their evil he wrote to his deputy in damascus ordering him to kill all of themwho fell into his hands and it was done 32

but the military prowess of the orders was only one aspect of theirperceived threat to islam many other frankishprankish knights were also superbwarriors but this alone did not merit their execution upon capture

the intransigence of the warrior monks was another matter the leg-endary assassins fierce fanatical islamic terrorists living in impregnablecastles in the mountains of syria were renowned for their ability tointimidate and manipulate both christian and muslim rulers in the twelfthcentury by the threat of assassination but they could not cow the militaryorders who not only refused to pay the extortion demanded by theassassins but instead received 200020002300 besantsbesanty a year in tributetributributerowterowaromfromatom the assas-sins 33 the knights of the military orders simply refused to be intimidatedby the threat of assassination

the muslim perspective of the intransigence of the military orders is

best reflected in the writings of abu alhasanal hasan alialtaitailall bin abi bakr al harawigarawica 1145 1215 a courtier military theorist and propagandist in the service

ofofsaladinsaladin 3431 A noted scholar and traveler al harawigarawi seems to have servedas a type of secret agent for saladin As a part of ongoing military reformssaladin ordered the preparation of at least three manuals on statecraft andwarfare one of which was written by al harawigarawi entitled al harawigarawi s dis-cussion on the stratagems of war

al harawigarawi s manual offers some interesting insights into muslim prej-udices concerning the crusaders in describing the latin clergy al harawigarawiwrote

the sultan should not neglect to write to the clergy concerning surrender for they have little religious sentiment and are capable of treacheryand disloyalty they desire the things of this world and are indifferent to thethings of the next they are irresponsible thoughtless petty and covetousbetous being concerned with rank and status among kings and noblesthey have a permissive religious judgment regarding their own actions 35

on the other hand al harawisbarawis view of the hospitallersHospitallers and templarstemplaryTemplars is

quite different

the sultan should beware of the hospitallerspitallerhospitalierHo and templar monks forhe can not achieve his goals through them for they have great fervor in reli-gion paying no attention to the things of this world he can not preventthem from interfering in political affairs I1 have investigated them exten-sively and have found nothing which contradicts this 36

in other words the military orders were a threat not only because oftheir military strength but because oftheir absolute spiritual devotion to theircause as well and that devotion when it entailed the destruction of islamrepresented an unacceptable threat to muslims in the age of saladin

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finally added to the military threat and intransigence of the orderswere the spiritual threat to islam they represented and the blasphemousimpurity they were seen to have brought to the muslim holy places theycontrolled 37 although the crusader capture of jerusalem in 1099logg wasviewed by muslims as a calamity the recovery of jerusalem as a muslimholy place was not a crucial issue in the early decades of the crusadesbeginning in the ngos however nur aldinal din and later saladin both madejihad against the crusaders a fundamental part of their state ideologies andthe reconquest of jerusalem a fundamental part of that jihad 38

from the muslim perspective the templarytemplarsTemplars with their headquarterson the temple mount had transformed the sacred haram al sharif thenoble sanctuary into a place of blasphemous spiritual impurity muslimrhetoric on this issue was often quite harsh imad aldinal din al isfahanidescribes some of these attitudes

As for the dome of the rock the franks had built on it a church and analtar they had adorned it with pictures and statues and they hadappointed in it places for monks and a place for the gospel in it were pic-tures of grazing animals fixed in marble and I1 saw among those depictionsthe likenesses of pigs the franks had cut pieces from the rock and car-ried some of them to constantinople and some of them to sicily it was saidthat they had sold them for their weight in gold our hearts were cutbecause of its cuts 39

not only this but on an iron door a representation of the messiah wasplaced in gold encrusted with precious stones 34040140 and bottles of wine forthe ceremony of the mass41 were found in the sacred places additionally

the aqsaaasa mosque especially its mihrab prayer niche indicating the directionto mecca was full of pigs and obscene language replete with the excrementthey had dropped in the building inhabited by those who have professedunbelief have erred and strayed acted unjustly and perpetuated offensesoverflowing with impurities 42

for muslims the templarstemplaryTemplars had made a sacred edifice into a place of idola-try the quran was replaced by copies of the bible drinking of alcoholforbidden by the quran was now commonplace in the mass animal filthand pigs unclean animals in islam defiled the holy site the christiansregularly defiled holy places by wearing shoes

the only option was the reconquest and purification of jerusalem andthe dome of the rock which became the proclaimed goal ofboth nur aldinal dinand saladin A panegyric poem about nur aldinal din describes this ideal

may it the city of jerusalem be purified by the shedding of bloodthe decision of nur aldinal din is as strong as ever and the iron ofhis lance is directed at the atsa 43

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FIG 3 the haram al sharif noble sanctuary while the entire sanctuary isis regardedas a mosque its most notable sacred buildings are the al aqsaaasa mosque left centerbuildingbuildmgwithwith dome and long roof built 705 CEc E and the dome of the rock right cen-ter commenced 685 CEC E known to jews and christians as the temple mount theharam al sharif served as the headquarters for the templarstemplaryTemp lars from about 1119 until it

when saladin finally retook jerusalem in 1187 his first act was to restorethe dome of the rock and al aqsaaasa mosques fig 3 to a state of ritualpurity saladin ordered the purification oathirtathirtathir of the aqsaaasa mosqueand the dome of the rock of the filthyfilths aqdharaqdhar and impuritiesaniasanjas4431441144 of the templarstemplaryTemplars all christian icons crosses and symbols were

removed and the mosques thoroughly cleaned next rosewaterrose water was

poured over the walls and floors of the two buildings which were then per-fumed with incense 0145114545 the great gilded cross which the templarytemplarsTemplars hadplaced on top of the dome of the rock was thrown to the ground and takento baghdad where it was buried beneath the nubian gate in baghdad

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was recaptured by saladin in 1187 this view is a detail from a panoramic photograph ofjerusalem probably taken around 1900 before the area was excavated revealing thesouthern stairwell dating from the first century the photograph a foldoutfold out brochurewas purchased by joseph booth or reba booth during a mission to turkey see ppap 239

246 courtesy E leon stubbs

and thus was trodden upon46 by all who entered the city likewise whenthe khwarazmians a turkish people took jerusalem from the crusadersin1244in 1244 they purified it and purified the haram temple area and theshrines there from the filthy franks and the foul christians 13471147334747

the feelings of the muslims concerning the expulsion of the templarstemplaryTemp larsand the restoration of the sanctity of jerusalem are well summarized by ibnzaki 1I praise god for his cleansing of his holy house from the filthof polytheism and its pollutionspollut ions 3348114148

As described at the beginning of this paper saladin after a decadeof campaigning inflicted a decisive defeat on the crusaders at the battle of

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hattin on july 4118741187 imad aldinal din described the horrible details of execu-tion of the military orders after the battle

the sultan saladin sought out the templarstemplaryTemplars and hospitallersHospitallers who had beencaptured and said 1 I shall purify the land of these two impure peoples heassigned fifty dinarsainars gold pieces to every man who had taken one of themprisoner and immediately the army brought forward at least a hundred ofthem he ordered that they should be beheaded choosing to have them deadrather than in prison with him was a whole band of scholars and suehs mys-tics and a certain number of devout men and ascetics each begged to beallowed to kill one of them and drew his sword and rolled back his sleevesaladin his face joyful was sitting on his dais the unbelieversbelieversun showed blackdespair the troops were drawn up in their ranks the amirsagirs commandersstood in double file there were some who slashed and cut cleanly and werethanked for it some who refused and failed to act and were excused somewho made fools of themselves and others took their places how manyills did saladin cure by the ills he brought upon a templar 49

saladin s massacre of the knights of the military orders must beunderstood in the context of this triple threat of military prowess intran-sigencesigence and profanation of sacred space ibn al athir succinctly describedsaladinssaladinsaladinaSalsaiadinss policy towards the military orders it was saladinssaladinaSaladins custom toexecute the templarstemplaryTemplars and hospitallersHospit allers because of their fierce enmitytowards the muslims and their great courage 50

factionalism in the ayyubid confederation 1193 1250

following saladinssaladinaSaladins great victory at hattin and his conquest ofjerusalem arab relations with the military orders again began to changethe knights of the military orders had been bested in battle and theirnumbers significantly decreased by combat and by execution jerusalemand many of the orders castles had been conquered most importantlythe dome of the rock had been purified and restored to the sanctity ofmuslim rule the templarstemplaryTemplars and hospitallersHospitallers still remained fierce oppo-nents of islam but accommodations can be reached even with the fiercestopponents their removal from the temple mount meant they were nolonger profaning muslim sacred space muslims were thus able to begin tomake accommodations with the military orders

at the same time the orders began to abandon their former intransi-gence becoming increasingly willing to make accommodation with thearabs thus in the decades following the death of saladin fig 4 the mili-tary orders once again were perceived as just one division of many amongthe faction ridden crusaders acting upon this perception muslim rulerswere frequently willing to make trucescruces treaties and even alliances withthe orders this willingness to reach accommodations with the militaryorders was exacerbated in the early thirteenth century by ongoing struggles

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for predominance among Nthe ayyubidsAyyub ids saladinssaladinaSaladinsfractious successors someayyubid princes actuallybegan to ally themselveswith the military orders inan attempt to gain politicaladvantages over their mus-lim rivals in 1240 alsalihal salihayyub sultan ofegypt cededascalon to frankishprankish barons FIG 4 saladinssaladinaSaladins tomb damascus saladin theallied with the templarstemplaryTemplars most successful leader of the countercrusadecountercrusade was

hoping to undermine their an unrelenting enemy of the military orders

alliance with his rival fromdamascus ismail 51 this story demonstrates not only an indifference to theideological threat of the orders but at least some degree ofunderstanding ofthe internal politics of the crusaders fraternization with the enemy was notuncommon when sultan isma il of damascus allied with the orders againstegypt his general ibrahim was allowed to stay in the monastic house of thetemplars52 in acre during the preparations for battle

another event demonstrates the political rivalries one thousand arabslaves were engaged in building safedhafed castle for the templarytemplarsTemplars and a plotwas undertaken to free them but when sultan ismail heard of it ratherthan offering assistance to the plotters he revealed the plan to the templarstemplaryTemplars

to curry their favor the templarstemplaryTemp lars promptly executed the slaves as a warn-ing to forestall further potential rebellions 53 thus isma il was willing toacquiesce in the death of a thousand muslim slaves in order to maintain hisalliance with the templarstemplaryTemplars for most of the early thirteenth century theorders were seen as just one other player in the never ending machiavel-lian struggle for power among the various christian and muslim princes ofpalestine for muslim rulers in this period the military orders were nolonger merely menacing enemies to be despised or attacked but were some-times potential allies to be cultivated

the mamiuksmamluksmemluks and the expulsion of the military orders 12501250 1291

the rise of the mamlukhamluk sultans in 1250 initiated the final phase ofarabrelations with the military orders 54 for centuries muslim princes hadbeen using slavesiave soldiers mamlukhamlukmam luk in arabic as bodyguards during thecrusades these guards were slowly transformed into elite regiments num-bering in the thousands in the succession struggles that followed the deathofsultan alsalihal salih ofegypt in 1250 the leaders of these slave soldiers managed

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to seize the throne inaugurating the era of the mamlukmarnlukhamluk sultans of egyptwhich lasted until the ottoman conquest of egypt in 1517

founded by rebellious slaves and usurpersusurp ers the mamlukhamluk sultanaterested on shaky ideological foundations the mamluksmemluks justified theirusurpation by claiming perhaps rightly that they were the only soldiersskilled enough to be able to overcome the double threat of the crusadersand mongolsmongelsMongols who had invaded the near east beginning in 1218 55 from thelate thirteenth century arab perspective the mongolsmongels were a far moreserious threat to their civilization than the crusaders 56 while the crusadershad the capacity to capture a few arab ports the mongolsmongels had the capacityto completely destroy islamic civilization and religion as the mongol sackofbaghdad in 1256 demonstrated thus the demise of the crusaders in thelate thirteenth century was somewhat delayed by mamlukhamluk preoccupationwith the mongol threat from mesopotamia

delayed but not forestalled for under the great warlordswarlords baybarsbaybarz1260 1277 and qalawun 1279 1290 the mamluksmemluks of egypt were able

both to prevent the mongolsmongels from conquering syria and palestine and todismember the remnants of the crusader kingdom baybarsbaybarz was the mostsuccessful conquering dozens of crusader cities and castles many ofwhich were owned by the military orders 57 but unlike saladin baybarsbaybarzdoes not seem to have made use of any special anti templar or hospitallerspitallerhospitalierHopropaganda as justification for his attacks numerous treaties were madewith the military orders which read like standard military treaties of theperiod 58158511 there were apparently no special clauses in the treaties relating tothe orders status as warrior monks

like saladin baybarsbaybarz massacred templar and hospitallerspitallerhospitalierHo prisonersafter his successful siege of the templar fortress of sabadsafad in galilee in1266 59 however unlike saladin his motivation was not primarily ideologi-cal baybarsbaybarz claimed that the templarstemplaryTemplars had violated the terms of the peacetreaty by attempting to leave the castle with their arms so they werebeheaded on a hill near safadsabad in a place where they had been used to

behead muslims logo116060 one templar who had once eaten with baybarsbaybarz andtherefore had a right to guest protection was spared he converted to islamand entered the sultan s service

on the other hand when baybarsbaybarz took the great Hospitaller fortress ofkrak de chevaliersChevaliers in syria fig 5 a few years later in 1271 he granted theentire garrison a safe conduct which he honored 61 after this siege baybars sent a letter taunting the grand master of the hospitallersHospitallers

this letter is addressed to frere hugues may god make him one of thosewho do not oppose destiny or rebel against him who has reserved victoryand triumph for his army to inform him of the conquest by god s graceof krak de chevaliersChevaliers which you fortified and built out and furbishedfurbishfurbishered

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muslim perspectives on the military orders during the crusades III111111iliilllil

FIG 5 krak de chevaliersChevaliers syria outer wall this fortress held by the hospitallersHospitallers wasa major center of crusader power until captured by baybarsbaybarz in 1271

and whose defence you entrusted to your brethren they have failed you bymaking them live there you destroyed them for they have lost both the fortand you these troops of mine are incapable ofbesieging any fort and leavingit able to resist them 62

there is no evidence here of the ideological animosity found in writingsfrom saladin s day the hospitallersHospitallers were simply an enemy like any other

likewise in the final struggle for acre in 1291 the templarstemplaryTemplars and hospitallerspitallers were not singled out for special punishment the knights of thetemple with many refugee civilians had shut themselves inside theirhuge tower

the templarstemplaryTemp lars then begged for their lives which the sultan al ashrafgranted them he sent them a standard which they accepted and raised overthe tower the door was opened and a horde of regulars soldiers and othersswarmed in when they came face to face with the defenders some of thesoldiers began to pillage and to lay hands on the women and children whowere with them whereupon the franks shut the door and attacked themkilling a number of muslims they hauled down the standard and stiffenedtheir resistance 63

eventually a second offer of amnesty was made but the foundationsof the tower had been so severely undermined in the siege that it collapsedas the mamluksmemluks were taking possession some members of the orders who

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were captured in the siege were executed but the arab sources ascribe thisaction not to a desire to specifically punish the military orders but to otherreasons of war for example

one reason for the sultans wrath against them the templarstemplaryTemp lars apart fromtheir other crimes of attacking muslims was that when the amir kitbughaal mansuri had gone up to receive their surrender they had seized andkilled him they had also hamstrung their horses and destroyed everythingthey could which increased the sultans wrath against them 64

in telling of the final siege ofacre arab sources do not describe specialideological animosity towards the orders with the holy places ofjerusalem firmly in muslim hands the military orders no longer repre-sented an ideological threat for the mamluksmemluksMam luks the military orders weresimply an enemy to be conquered

mamluksmemluks and franciscans in the fourteenth century

the expulsion of the crusaders from the holy land in 1291 did not endarab relations with western european christians western monks mostnotably the franciscans continued to live among the muslims in theholy land 65 the nature of the relations of the franciscans with the mamluks serves as an interesting counterpoint to earlier arab views on themilitary orders

franciscan tradition maintains that in 1219 st francis himself obtainedpermission from the sultan alsalihal salih isma il 1245 1249 for the franciscansto be allowed to worship unmolested in the church of the holy sepulchrein jerusalem 66 franciscans are also said to have been used by the sultan asambassadors to pope innocent IV 1243 1254 67 throughout the late thir-teenth century as the mamluksmemluks were driving the crusaders from the holyland franciscans apparently remained on relatively good terms with thearabs and were afforded special treatment by the sultans 68

after the fall of acre in 1291 pope nicholas IV 1288 1292 a francis-can begged permission from the sultan al ashraf for latin monks to beallowed to remain in jerusalem the sultan granted this request of thepope and bade him send some clergy monks and men of peace tojerusalem so the pope chose some discreet learned and faithful friarsfrom his own order 69 with the help of a judicious payment in 1300 of32000 ducatsdubats from rupert of sicily the franciscans were given the cenaclealso known as the upper room on mount zion as their headquarters as

well as chapels in other holy places in jerusalem 70 this presence of thefranciscans in jerusalem was thus permitted by the mamluksmemluks before it wasofficially authorized by pope clement VI in 1342 when he established thefranciscans as caretakers of the holy land ferraeterrae sangtaesanctae custodiscustodesCustodis aposition they still maintain

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thus within a few decades of the fall of the crusader kingdom and theexpulsion of the military orders the mamluksmemluks were permitting westernmonks to visit worship and remain in the holy land but of course thetemplarytemplarsTemplars and hospitallersHospitallers were not included in this new policy of tolera-tion arab opposition to the military orders was thus clearly not simplyantagonism towards christianity or monasticism rather their fourteenthcentury patronage of the franciscans described as men of peace per-haps in specific distinction to the military functions of the templarytemplarsTemp lars andhospitallersHospit allers indicates that the arabs were willing to accommodatepeaceful western monastic activities in the holy land

of course the mamlukhamluk permission for franciscan presence in the holyplaces was not by any means entirely or even largely altruistic there weremany advantages that mamlukhamluk sultans hoped to obtain from the revitaliza-tion of the franciscan presence in the late thirteenth century the mamluks continued to fear a potential alliance between the franks andmongolsmongelsMongols and their accommodation with nicholas IV over a franciscanpresence in the holy land may have been in part an attempt to forestallsuch a coalition granting the franciscans control over the holy places ofpalestine was also perhaps partially a mechanism to forestall future poten-tial claims of the military orders to those same holy places better a fran-ciscan in jerusalem than a templar and if the holy places were accessibleto western pilgrims they might feel less inclination to attempt to retakethose places by force in a new crusade the franciscan presence would alsoencourage pilgrimage from the west which would not incidentally bringa nice howflow of european silver into the mamlukhamluk kingdom tourism in itsmedieval as well as modern forms is big business in this light we shouldnot forget the 320003200032300 ducatsdubats paid by rupert of sicily finally the francis-cans could in a sense be held hostage for future good behavior of franks inoutremer saber rattling from the west could be countered with threats toclose christian holy places and expel or even execute the franciscansindeed this is precisely what happened in 1365 when peter of cyprus

1359 1369 attacked alexandria the egyptian sultan al ashraf sha ban1363 1376 arrested and executed the franciscans of jerusalem new

monks were allowed to return only after peace was restored 71

nonetheless in light of the preceding two centuries of invasions andwarfare and the mamlukhamluk fear of a possible renewal of crusades in the earlyfourteenth century the overall mamlukhamluk policy toward a continued westernmonastic presence in the holy land was remarkably enlightened somecontemporaneous european policies showed much less tolerance towardsjews and muslims in spain and other parts of europe 72

fundamentally however following the expulsion of the crusadersthe arabs simply ceased to pay further attention to the military orders

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the destruction of the templarytemplarsTemplars in france from 1307 to 1312i3i27373 went basi-cally unnoticed among the arabs although they must have received infor-mation on these events from the frequent visits of venetian merchants toalexandria it seems that when the templarstemplaryTemplars were driven from the levantthey were also driven from the historical consciousness of the arabsarabS

74

conclusion

muslims during the crusades had enough intercultural understandingto be able to distinguish both between eastern and western christians andbetween the various monastic orders of the west although the fundamen-tal islamic principle of tolerance for christianity and monasticism wasseverely strained by two centuries of crusades it was not entirely shatteredAs the military threat of the crusades waned and muslim control of theholy places was restored muslims were able to maintain a clear distinctionbetween ordinary christian monks such as the franciscans and theknights of the military orders the latter were to be driven from the holyland the former could be tolerated and even cultivated thus in the strugglebetween toleration and conflict toleration ultimately prevailed

if the revival ofmuslim toleration for christian monks after the crusadescan serve as any type of model for the current arab israeli conflict then thehope for an eventual peace between arabs and jews may not be entirely vainhowever during the crusades arab generosity and tolerance bore fruit onlyafter saladin s victories had secured the holy places ofjerusalem now as thenthe struggle for control of the sacred haram al sharif noble sanctuary ortemple mount is a fundamental key to resolving this tragic conflict 75 butunfortunately neither side seems able to abandon claims to this holy site

without abandoning a part of their soul

william J hamblin williamwilliarruiamblinbyueduhamblinbyuedu is professor of history atbrigham young university he received a BA in history from brigham young univer-sity and a phd in near east history from the university of michigan this article wasoriginally presented as an invited lecture for the malta study center at the hill monasticmanuscript library st johns university collegevilleCollegeville minnesota on march 232320012001

i the exception was reynald de chatillon who was executed by saladin for hisbarbarous attacks on muslim pilgrims see steven runciman A history of the crusades3 vols cambridge cambridge university press 1951 54 2459 6060 see also malcolmcameron lyons and D E P jackson saladin the politics of the holy war cambridgecambridge university press 1982 264 for general background on the islamic neareast during this period see P M holt the age of the crusades the near eastfrombasteast from theeleventh century to 1517 new york longman 1986

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2 the military orders were monks who while living according to standardmedieval monastic rules were also knights of christ dedicated to fighting those whowere perceived as enemies of god and of the roman catholic church the literature onthe military orders is immense for an introduction see alan forey the militaryorders from the twelfth to the early fourteenth centuries toronto university oftoronto press 1992 the two most important military orders in the holy land werethe templarstemplaryTemp lars and the hospitallersHospitallers who are the focus of this essay on the templarstemplaryTemplars see

malcolm barber the new knighthood A history of the order of the temple cam-bridge cambridge university press 1994 for a lavishly illustrated general history ofthe hospitallersHospitallers with additional bibliography see H J A sire the knights of maltanew haven yale university press 1994

3 described by runciman crusades 353 with references to primary sources4 runciman crusades 2465 67

5 on the relations between the byzantinesByzantines and pre islamic arabs see bibliogra-phy and discussion in irfan A shahid alexander P kazhdan and anthony cutlerarabs in the oxford dictionary of ofbyzantiumbyzantium ed alexander P kazhdan new york

oxford university press 1991 1149 51

6 see references in the encyclopaedia of islam ed A J wensinckWensinck C E

bosworth and others 2dad ed leiden E J brill 1954 8396 97 sv rahbaniyya andrahib see also shorter encyclopaedia of islam ed H A R gibb and J H kramersleiden E J brill 1953 466 67 sv rahbaniyaRahbaniya and rahib

7 the koran 5thath ed trans N J dawood london penguin 19901990 references tothe quran are by sura and verse

8 this is presumably a cloud protecting muhammad from the heat of the sun ona desert journey

9 ibn ishaq the life of muhammad trans A guillaume lahore pakistanbranch oxford university press 1967 79 81

lo1010 ibn ishaq life ofmuhammadof muhammad 105 6

ii I1 have slightly altered this verse the arabic verb translated as invented hereis abbadabtad uha related to bida the technical term in later islamic theology for innova-tion or heresy see wensinckWensinck encyclopaedia ofislamof islamisiam sv rahbaniyya 8396 for adiscussion of the two differing traditions of interpretation of this passage I1 here follow theinterpretation that was most common during the crusades though it may not bethe original

12 among the numerous passages in the quraur I1an see 21093113 and 5729 and sec-tions beginning with 4153 and 515

13 alAI tabari the history ofotalofalotaial tabari vol 12 the battle of al qadisiyyah and theconquest ofsyriaof syria and palestine trans yohanan friedmann albany state university ofnew york press 1992 191 other similar treaties are recounted therein likewisekhalid ibn al walidswalias treaty with damascus states

this is what khalid b walid gave to the inhabitants of damascus he gavethem security for their persons property churches and the wall of their citynone of their houses shall be destroyed or confiscated on these terms theyhave alliance with god and the protection of his prophet the caliphs andthe believers nothing but good shall befall them if they pay tribute A S

tritton the caliphs and their non muslim subjects A critical study of thecovenant ocumarofumar london frank cass 197011970 9 quoting ibn al athir

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14 for general background and bibliography see F L cross and E A living-stone eds the oxford dictionary of the christian church sv john of damascusoxford oxford university press 1997 735 36

15 dimitri gutasbutas greek thought arabic culture the graecogracco arabic translationmovement in baghdad and early abbasidAbbasid society second fourtheighthFourth Eighth tenth cen-turies london routledge 1998

16 for general background on egyptian monasticism see otto F A meinardusmonks and monasteries of the egyptian deserts rev ed cairo the american univer-sity in cairo press 1989 the story ofofbaybarsbaybarsbaybarz I1 appears on p 84

17 on the various branches of near eastern christianity see samuel hughmoffett A history of christianity in asia vol i1 beginnings to 15001500 san franciscoharper san francisco 1992

18 some of the beliefs and practices of monasticism may also have influencedideas in early sufism islamic mysticism for general introduction to sufism seealexander knysh islamic mysticism A short history leiden E Jf brill 2000 julianbaldick mystical islam an introduction to sufism london 1I B tauriscauris 1989

19 ibn al qalanisifalanisi dhaylthayl ta bikhrikh dimashedimashq ed H amerdrozamezdrozAmer droz leiden E J brilligo19019083391908009190830983398309

20 on the history of damascus as the first reference and on the philology of thearab names for the orders see R stephen humphreys in encyclopaedia of islamsupplemental volume leiden E J brill 1981 sv dawiyya and isbitariyya

21 usamahosamah ibn munqidh an arab syrian gentleman and warrior in the periodof the crusades memoirs of osamahusamah ibn munquidh trans philip hitti princetonprinceton university press 1987 163 64

22 the major references are summarized in humphreys dawiyya andisbitariyya 205

23 barber new knighthood 95

24 barber new knighthood 86 lyons and jackson saladin 139 41 williamarchbishop of tyre A history ofdeedsof deeds done beyond the sea trans emily atwater bab-cock and A C krey 2 volsVOIS new york columbia university press 1943 2442 43

25 runciman crusades 2420 william of tyre history ofdeedsof deeds 244326 it was not uncommon for captured lords to be held for years if a suitable ran-

som could not be agreed upon reynald de chatillon was captured and remainedunransomed for sixteen years runciman crusades 2357

27 barber knighthood 86 and nn 67 and 68 lyons and jackson saladin 141 4328 for a recent summary of the differing phases and aspects of jihad during the

crusades see carole hillenbrand the crusades islamic perspectives new york routl-edge 2000 89 255 with a bibliography on earlier studies

29 ibn al athir quoted in gabrielli arab historians 118

30 ibn al athir quoted in gabrielli arab historians 124

31 ibn al athir al kamillikamilfikamilkamii fi al parikhtarikh beirut dar sader dar beyrouthbeyroutyBeyrouth 1966

11531 translation by author32 ibn al athir al kamil 11538 translation by author33 barber new knighthood 100 103 farhad daftary the isma ilis their history

and doctrines cambridge cambridge university press 1990 397 98 420 21 forgeneral studies on the assassins see bernard lewis the assassins A radical sect inislam new york basic books 1968

34 for a more detailed discussion of al harawigarawi and a related bibliography seewilliam J hamblin saladin and muslim military theory in the horns ofhattinof Hattin edB Z kedar london variorum jerusalem yad izhak benzviben zvi and israel explorationsociety 1992 228 38

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35 al harawigarawi al tadhkirat al harawiyyafi al hayl al harbiyyaharbiyaharbina ed M al murabitmurabitodamascus wizarat al thaqafah 19721041972 104 translation by author

36 al harawigarawi al tadhkirat 104 5 translation by author37 in this section I1 follow the analysis of hillenbrand the crusades 282 32238 see the summary of the evidence and studies in hillenbrand the crusades

89 255

39 imad aldinal din al isfahani kitab al fath al qussifilqussibussi pilfil fashfath al qudsi ed C land-berg leiden npap 1888 ed M M subh cairo 1965 quoted in hillenbrand thecrusades 290

40 ali al harawigarawi kitab al ziyarat trans J sourdelhourdel thomine as guide des lieuxdedepelerinageplerinageplerpierinage damascus 1957 quoted in hillenbrand the crusades 290

41 ibn wasil mufarrij al kurubkerub ed J al shayyal cairo 1953 57 quoted in hil-lenbrandlenbrand the crusades 291

42 abu shama kitab al rawdatayan 2 volsVOIS cairo 1954 quoted in hillenbrandthe crusades 301

43 ibn al qaysarani quoted in hillenbrand the crusades 151

44 ibn al athir al kamilfil parikhtarikh ed C Jf tornberg 12 volsVOIS leiden and uppsala 1851 76 quoted in hillenbrand the crusades 300

45 hillenbrand the crusades 29946 al maqrizimaurizi kitab al suluk trans R Jf C broadhurst as history ofayyubids and

mamluksmemluks boston npap 19801980 trans E quatremerequatremquatromQuatremerere as Hihistoricstoriestorle des sultans mamlouksmamlouks de

iegyptevegypte paris 1837 45 quoted in hillenbrand the crusades 305

47 ursula lyons and malcolm cameron lyons trans and J S C riley smithayyubidsAyyub ids mamlukesMam lukes and crusaders selectionsfromselections frompromhrom the parikhtarikh al duwal waiwalwa l muluk ofibn al furatburat vol 2 the translation cambridge W heffer and sons 1971 3

48 ibn zaki quoted in ibn khallikanKhallikan wafayat alayanal ayan 4 vols trans W M deslane as ibn Khallikan s biographical dictionary paris 1843 71 quoted in hillenbrandthe crusades 301

49 imad aldinal din al fath al qussibussiqussififi al fath al qudsi in arab historians of thecrusades trans francesco gabrieli berkeley university of california press 1969 138

50 ibn al athir al kamil 122251 R stephen humphreys from saladin to the mongolsmongelsMongols the ayyubidsAyyub ids of damas-

cus 1193 12601260 albany state university of new york press 1977 268 69

52 lyons and lyons ayyubidsAyyubids 5

53 humphreys damascus 267 68

54 robert irwin the middle east in the middle ages the early mamlukhamluk sultanate12501250 1382 london croon helm 1986

55 david morgan the mongolsmongels oxford basil blackwell 1990199056 on these issues see reuven amitaiamitan preiss mongelsmongols and mamluksmemluksMamluks themamlukthetre hamlukmamluk

ilkhanidIlkhanid war 12601260 1281 cambridge cambridge university press 1995

57 peter thorau the lion ofegyptof egypt sultan baybarsbaybarz I1 and the near east in the thirt-eenth century trans P M holt new york longman 1992

58 some of these can be found in gabrieli arab historians 323 33 see also ibnal purat ayyubidsAyyub ids

59 lyons and lyons ayyubidsAyyubids 95 966060 lyons and lyons ayyubidsAyyubids 9561 lyons and lyons Ayyubayyubidsids 145 4662 ibn al purat in gabrieli arab historians 318 19

63 abu I1 mahasin in gabrieli arab historians 348

64 abu I1 mahasin in gabrieli arab historians 348

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65 for general background on the franciscans in the holy land see sabino de san-doli the peaceful liberation of the holy places in the fourteenth century the thirdreturn of the frankishprankish or latin clergy to the custody and service of the holy places

through official negotiations in 1333 cairo franciscan center of christian orientalstudies 19901990 and more generally john moorman A history of the franciscan orderfrom its origins to the year 1517 oxford clarendon press 1968

66 elzear horn ichnographiae monumentorumMonument orum ferraeterrae sangtaesanctae 1724 1744 transE hoade jerusalem franciscan printing press 1962 quoted in F E peters jerusalem

the holy city in the eyes of chroniclers visitors pilgrims and prophetsfromprophets tromfromarom the days ofabraham to the beginnings of modern times princeton princeton university press

1985369i985 369ogg

67 horn quoted in peters jerusalem 36968 horn quoted in peters jerusalem 36969 felix fabri the book of the wanderings of felix fabri trans A stewart 2 volsVOIS

new york AMS press 1971 quoted in peters jerusalem 421

70 fabri quoted in peters jerusalem 422 horn quoted in peters jerusalem 370

71 peter W edbury the kingdom of cyprus and the crusades 1191 1741374 cambridge cambridge university press 1991iggi 161 71

72 for a general history of the relationship between christian europe and thejews see james carroll constantines sword the church and the jews a history newyork houghton mifflin 20012ooibooi

73 barber new knighthood 280 313

7417474174.11 have not searched all contemporary histories for possible references but themajor historians do not mention the fall of the templarstemplaryTemp lars of course the specific targeting of the military orders as special enemiesof islam continued after the crusades in thepolicies of the ottoman sultans whilenumerous accommodations were madewith greek armenian georgian and syrianchristians and monks in conquered byzanayzantine provinces the hospitallersHospitallers of rhodesand later malta were continually targeted asspecial enemies of islam culminating in thegreat sieges of rhodes in 14801480 and 1522 andof malta in 1565 for a general discussionand bibliography on the great sieges seesire knights ofmaltaof maitamalta 51 72

75 gershom gorenberg the end ofdays fundamentalism and the struggle forthe temple mount new york free press

2000

khayberklayberKhayber by hashim al tawil195241952 oil and mixed media

on canvas 36 x 60 1994klayberkhayber is an ancient city inpre islamic arabia the calli-graphic lion is a famous symbol of alialtail the fourth caliph and cousin ofmuhammad the text of the calligraphy is a sunsufisuhi invocation to alialtail

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Muslim Perspectives on the Military Orders during the Crusades

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